Freedom Fighter Special
The Freedom Fighter Special (abbreviated to FFS) was a rapid-deployment vehicle that was used by the Knothole Freedom Fighters as a means of crossing the distance of hundreds to thousands of kilometers to address a threat involving Dr. Robotnik. The vehicle itself was a re-purposed Royal Aerospace VTOL Model 7 Long Range Transport that specifically was used in the Great War against the Overlander clans. The aircraft was rated for suborbital flight to help get it across the globe faster. Originally much more heavily armed with Childress M-29 Heavy Gunpods, the craft is virtually now unarmed for two purposes: the lighter load allows the aircraft to reach higher ground speed and the other purpose is to help communicate the peaceful nature of the Freedom Fighters. However, the aircraft is armed with a point defense system that launches flak rounds to eliminate heat seeking missiles. Prior to the UNSC arrival, the VTOL Model 7 Freedom Fighter Special became a symbol of speed superiority, but after 3234, the Royal Military began to adopt Human aircraft such as the D108H-TCI Pelican dropship. This change was of particular impact to the engineer responsible for the reimaging of the FFS, Rotor the Walrus. The aircraft was retired some time around February of 3235 with only five years of service. Description The Royal Aerospace Model 7 was a respectable aircraft prior to its re-servicing as the Freedom Fighter Special. Combat was never a direct responsibility of the plane. It was designed to be more for ferrying troops and supplies to the frontline. In a sense, it was considered a dropship, though its mechanics were different than that of a Pelican. The Freedom Fighter Special did not require a runway to operate, instead using vectored thrust to push off the ground while the main engines located in a group of three on the rear of the craft pushed it forward. While in flight, the FFS could operate like any other fixed wing aircraft with the pilot seated at the front of the craft. The deck plan included a communications suite where a group of three radar and COM operators would monitor frequencies for communications of different types. Behind that, the rest of the craft was mostly made up of a space that constituted both the hold as well as an armory. However, due to the more peaceful application of the craft post-War, the armory was rarely used. However, vehicles could be strapped to sections across the floor. Upon landing, the FFS could extend a ramp that could descend facing the nose of the craft. An identical, yet shorter ramp could extend from the rear which was used for troop deployment. In many cases, back in its military days, Royal Army soldiers would HALO jump from the craft. Even in its post-War days as the Freedom Fighters' craft, several, most notably Sonic the Hedgehog jumped several times while the craft was in flight. The craft was recorded to achieve a ground speed of almost fifteen hundred knots with afterburners activated. During average flight, the speed was closer to nine hundred. This is what gave it a great reputation. However, when the craft was laden with cargo like armored personnel carriers, the air speed could drop to four to five hundred knots both because of the weight and because of the safety risks. The Freedom Fighter Special was able to reach the edge of space and even carried RCS fuel to orient itself while in the extremely thin air. The service ceiling of the aircraft was believed to be 115,000 feet, and with its vectored thrust, it was believed that it could maintain this flight with zero forward movement. While in service of the Royal Air Force, the FFS was painted matte black, but after its reassignment as the main transport of the Freedom Fighters, it was painted dark navy blue with a single with two white stripes running diagonally across each wing. This was meant to symbolize the flag of the Kingdom of Acorn. Princess Sally Acorn believed it was important to give the people both hope as well as something to look up to. The flag of their nation was the conclusion - a symbol of their people soaring across the sky in the face of tyranny. The FFS paled however in comparison to Human military aircraft. The Pelican dropship for example matched much of the aircraft's technical specifications, even with its upgrades. The stock military dropships were also capable of orbital flight, something that the Freedom Fighter Special was never intended to do. That alone made them far more appealing to the Royals than an aging aircraft. The redesigner of the FFS, Rotor the Walrus argued that the aircraft symbolized the Freedom Fighters as a group as well as the Kingdom, but the benefits of adopting newer and far more efficient aircraft was what the government chose to side with, leaving Rotor bitter in the face of both the UNSC as well as his own monarchs. The Freedom Fighter Special was retired in February of 3235 and remains at the King Frederick Air Force Base as both an example to new pilots as well as a parade aircraft to fly at air shows. The Freedom Fighters never forgot their old bird and regularly made pilgrimage to its resting place. In 3241, it was decided that the aircraft would be immortalized in a museum showing the exploits and the adventures of the Freedom Fighters. Even forever grounded, the FFS would remain a symbol and a piece of history to the Kingdom of Acorn. Behind the Scenes The Freedom Fighter Special appears in the Archie Comics in the Pre-Genesis Wave era of the Sonic comics. The aircraft itself was modeled after the X-Jet in Marvel's ''X-Men ''comics and served the same purpose to move the X-Men over the world. In the Chaos Chronicles, I always envisioned the craft to appear much more like the SR-71 Blackbird, though a bit more on the larger side due to the fact that it was also intended to be a transport. It also made sense to say that the aircraft was a holdover of the Great War's air arsenal because it makes much more sense to recommission a craft rather than simply build a new one entirely. The retiring of the FFS also is meant to show that the influence of the UNSC is far greater than that of the Freedom Fighters. It signals an end of their involvement an the introduction of the Humans to essentially wipe out all opposition against the Kingdom, solving all of their problems and rendering the Freedom Fighters obsolete. It's kind of a changing of the guard in somewhat of a sad way since an icon of their influence has been grounded. List of Appearances * The Story of Mobius (First Appearance, as the Model 7) * Journal of Sally Acorn (Mentioned Only) Category:Vehicle Category:Mobius Category:Military